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Donatus U. Ekwueme, PhD, MS

Dr. Donatus U. Ekwueme is the Senior Health Economist in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC), National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Ekwueme has worked as a health economist for more than a decade conducting economic research on international and domestic public health issues in several national centers within CDC. Currently, he serves as the senior health economist in DCPC where he provides leadership and direction for applied economics research projects and policy analysis, on the burden of cancer disease in the United States and other countries.

His research focuses on using various modeling approaches to understand the interplay between economics, epidemiology, human behavior, and the prevention and control of cancer disease. A major area of his research also includes the development of methods to collect economic cost data to accurately evaluate and estimate the economics of national cancer prevention and control programs. He provides easy-to-understand economic cost information to help public health leaders make more informed decisions on the most effective methods of allocating resources to prevent and control as many cancers as possible.

Dr. Ekwueme is a founding member of an interagency consortium to promote health economics research on cancer (HEROiC) in the United States. HEROiC focuses on developing research resources and improving analytic methods to improve the estimation of the economic burden of cancer in the United States, including spending on cancer care, financial burden, employment, and access to care among cancer survivors. An example of HEROiC’s work is the supplement to the nationally representative Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Experiences with Cancer, which addresses financial hardship, employment changes, and access to care associated with cancer, its treatment, or lasting effects of treatment.

Dr. Ekwueme has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles on economic evaluation methods, economic analyses, health outcomes, and health services research. Most of his work has received media coverage including print, radio, and TV interviews, and appeared in 10 top public health, clinical, and policy journals. Dr. Ekwueme also serves as an adjunct professor at the Morehouse School of Medicine.

Some of the most recent articles Dr. Ekwueme has authored or co-authored include—